It’s been nearly two years since France’s Benoit Paire was considered a rising prospect in tennis circles. Circle back to Rome of 2013 when Paire reached his first Masters semifinal.

2014: After Monte-Carlo Loss Paire Just Wants to Go Home

Paire was receiving lots of attention not just for his results but for his eclectic shotmaking and to-die-for backhand. He would reach a career-high ranking that year, but since then stops and starts due to injuries and inconsistency have sent the Frenchman spiraling back down the rankings.

Until now.

With a run of Futures and Challengers brilliance in his rearview (the Avignon, France native has two Challenger titles and a Futures title to his name in 2015), world No. 90 Paire finds himself back in a winning way at the Masters level as well. After qualifying for the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, the 25-year-old defeated Denis Kudla in the first round. He says he’s feeling 100 percent healthy with his knee problems behind him.

“I have had two perfect weeks just now,” Paire said. “Of course, just before a match I take some painkillers so that I can play with my mind free. But otherwise I can practice and enjoy my tennis without any medicine.”

Paire credits his recent run of fine play on the Futures and Challengers circuits with jump-starting his revival. “For me, playing the futures was mandatory because when you don't play for eight months you're not able to play well on the important points,” Paire said. “If I wanted to start winning matches again, it was very important that I played those tournaments. It helped me trying to find references and to build up my game. After the futures, I played the challengers. Every time I had a difficult moment, I was thinking to the period of eight months when I was not even able to play, thinking how lucky I was.”

Paire, known as a hothead in the mold of his idol Marat Safin, says perspective has helped him mature and control his emotions better. “I believe I'm stronger mentally now,” he said. “Today instead of getting angry, I was just thinking, ‘Look, you're in this tournament, you're in Monte-Carlo, enjoy.’ Now I'm able to fight on the court. I'm stronger in my mind. It comes naturally to me now. Before, Lionel, my coach, had to push me all the time. He doesn't need to do that anymore. He rather gives me tactical advice.”

Paire’s patience and mental toughness will certainly be tested in the second-round at Monte-Carlo. He’ll face his compatriot Gilles Simon, one of the most dogged competitors on the tour.